The Solution
by Iris Redwood
Summary: What do you do when you are presented with a problem? You find a solution, of course. You make a decision, no matter how bad it my be, because nothing is worse than the alternative...right? Rated T in case of swearing. Parings? Maybe, you'll have to read to find out. ;)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi! This is my first fanfic ever so please do me a favor and be gentle! I appreciate all comments, but please no super harsh flames! Medium to small flames will do just fine! Thanks! P.S. I don't own the Teen Titans.**

Prologue

Raven's POV

He….hurt me. Me. I didn't know that was possible anymore. I thought we had something together, but now I see that my judgment was clouded. When I looked back with a clear head, I realized just how suspicious and unreasonable he really was. The worst part was I let him and for what? Some fake compliments and empty promises that led to my epic failure and embarrassment.

But I made up for it; I banished him back into his book where he belongs. I took control and fixed my mistakes, like I always do. But this was something I only wanted to happen once. With a troubled mind, I used my powers to fix the roof before sinking through the roof into my room. I knew I didn't have to tell the others to leave me alone.

I gazed at the scene around me. Books and scrolls; some intact and others faintly smoking, littered the room and covered every available surface. I sighed and picked up my mirror, I needed a trip to Nevermore. I needed their council to find a solution to my problems.

Later, back in my room, I was cleaning up when there was a knock on my door. "Raven?" I clutched the book I was holding to my chest. I knew that voice. I also knew I didn't want to see him, or anyone else, just yet. I remained silent as he continued.

"It's me. Look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Confused, I questioned. "For what? You weren't the one who-"

He interrupted me. "No, I'm sorry that he broke your heart."

"I know it was all a lie, but he was the only person who ever made me feel like I wasn't….creepy, and don't try to tell me that I'm not." Because I knew he did, he already told me so.

"Ok, fine, you're way creepy." That stung a little. "But that doesn't mean you have to stay locked in your room. You think you're alone Raven, but you're not."

His odd little pep talk touched me. I opened my door to see his surprised face before reaching foreword and pulling him into a hug. I tried to put all of my unsaid-gratitude into the very un-me-like gesture as he remained stiff in my arms. After a moment, he pulled away and I let him.

He stared at me for a moment in what I think was shock, before the tension was broken by Cyborg throwing a stank ball at Beast Boy's face. "Booyah!" I sent a silent thank you to Azar, I did not want to talk or think about my feelings anymore that night-or ever again for that matter. I made my decision, plucking the wad of dirty clothes up from Beast Boy's face; I enveloped the clothes in my dark magic before turning to Cyborg. For the finishing touch, I added a little grin.

"Now hold on Raven! Agh!"

I threw it at him with a well practiced aim and hit him squarely in the face. A small giggle arose before I could stop it, which caused both boys to glance at each other. I held up the ball again in a threatening manner before they turned tail and disappeared down the hall. Once they were gone, I felt my grin slip and I dropped the filthy wad of clothes next to Cyborg's room. My doors slid shut behind me and I continued to place items back where they belonged. I didn't need the others to help me with my problem. I had already addressed and found an adequate solution. I just needed a little time to move in from this, just the night. In the morning, I could deal with anything again, but right now, I needed to rest and meditate. After all, I had already made absolutely sure that this kind of thing could never happen again.

"_I still think you should stop this,"_ An intelligent, warning voice murmured. _"You don't know the consequences will come of what you have done."_

"_Neither do you," _I countered. _"Don't you see," _I thought back. _"It was the only way to protect us, to protect them. What damage could we cause if this happened again?" _I reasoned.

The voice huffed in an annoyed voice. _"I thought Beast Boy was supposed to be the child, Raven. Not you."_

I crawled onto bed and tucked myself in, too tired to be surprised at her cracking a joke. _"It shouldn't matter to you anyway. What I…thought I felt, you never would have anyway, it had nothing to do with you."_ I received no answer so I tried to sleep, ending up drifting for a while. Just as I was finally closing my eyes, I heard her sigh.

"_And now, neither of us will."_ She said in a tired, resigned voice.

I pushed her comment away and forced myself to believe I had made the right decision, because if this ever happened again, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for putting my team in danger.

A snort echoed in my head and a different, rougher voice answered. _"That's a lie if I ever heard one. Admit it; this whole thing is a result of your cowardice."_

I glared at the ceiling and _shoved _her away before effectively closing my mind against any further intrusions, but her words gave me a sliver of a doubt. Was I wrong? …No I knew I wasn't. Hardening my heart, I slipped into a dreamless, healing sleep.

I was awoken the next morning by the singing of birds and the first few rays of dawn. The air was pleasantly cool and the clear sky ensured a sunny day, a sure promise of a new beginning. The slightest hint of a smile worked itself onto my relieved, if tired, face. I felt totally at peace as I dressed for the day and left my room in search of my morning tea.

Upon my arrival, I noted that I, as per usual, was the first one up. That was fine by me; more meditation was probably needed before I would be able to properly appear "normal" or "over it". _"I am absolutely fine and will restore my image as the stoic, controlled, emotionless teammate." _I reassured myself as I took the kettle of the stove, pleased with the smell that emanated from the tea when I steeped it. Using my powers, I summoned a cup and saucer from the cabinet and proceeded to pour a generous amount into the cup-

"_Emotionless? I think not Miss Raven," _Interrupted the gruff voice. I froze as she continued. "_In fact, I say this whole thing is a result of you overreacting." _The cup began to shake. _"If anything, this experience shows you are the most emotional one of all." _I could practically _feel_ her smirk as she finished. _"You know I speak the truth, don't deny it. We all know what happens when you do. That being said, what are you going to do about it?" _

The cup shattered. I stood silent, looking at, but not quite seeing the broken remains of my beverage, reduced to pieces _again_ because I couldn't control myself. Shaking myself of the thought and her words, I stooped down and cleaned the mess before pouring a fresh cup, and heading for the roof. I needed some deep meditation, if just to ease my conflicted mind. 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! So, I will try to update this every week, but finals are coming up, so there could be a slight delay! Thanks for reading! I don't own the Teen Titans.**

Chapter 1: Finally

Tokyo

Raven's P.O.V

The crowd cheered for us as we stood on the platform. Thousands of new fans clapped, screamed, or took pictures; which resulted in spots in front of my eyes every so often. In an effort to shield my eyes, I glanced sideways toward Cyborg who was smiling and waving at the crowd. Even the crazy Japanese chefs where cheering and offering him plates of food, which he turned down with a seasick look.

Looking to the front again, I was reminded of the slightly humorous result from our little vacation- turned- mission than just our victory. Robin was standing at the front of our team, gripping Starfire's hand proudly and waving at the press as their cameras flashed. I briefly wondered if Starfire's face could break from the comical width of her smile. I could literally feel the happiness, joy, and most importantly, love that emanated from both Robin and Starfire as they stood there for the world to see. After only a few short moments, my head began to throb and I focused on closing my mind to their happy, but loud feelings and instead focused on my last teammate.

Beast Boy stood next to Cyborg and waved to his "adoring" fans; which consisted of a horde of screaming Japanese girls. I rolled my eyes as their unholy shrieks made my head throb even worse, but I remained silent and let Beast Boy have his five minutes of fame. The battle was over and we had come out the victors, it was time to celebrate. There would be time later to comment on the low standards of Japan's female population.

At a nudge at my shoulder, I looked over to see Cyborg's grin which morphed into a knowing smirk as he nodded to the newly formed couple. I nodded back with a smirk of my own as Beast Boy finally turned back toward us and proclaimed to Cyborg.

"Hey guys, look it's a miracle!"

Cyborg let out a hearty laugh and even I produced a low chuckle before I could stop myself. _"That's strange."_ I thought, missing Beast Boy's initial gasp of surprise.

"Dude, no way! First, the Clueless Couple gets together, and now Raven's laughing!" He saved me from comment as he added; "Now all you have to do is admit I'm funny and I can die a happy man."

Ok, I had reached my limit of annoyance for the day. "How about you just die a scared boy?" I scowled as I engulfed my hand in my dark magic.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! No need to get all hotheaded! Two out of three ain't bad!" He hurriedly said from behind Cyborg who laughed at Beast Boy's antics.

"Well, at least I can count on one thing when we get back to the Tower." He grinned.

"What is that?" I asked, mild irritation already gone.

"Beast Boy always finds some way to annoy you, no matter the occasion. For example, we defeat a giant Tokyo villain, AND our resident Clueless Couple finally gets together, but here you two are, still goin' at it! I'm glad I got ya'll around for entertainment." Cyborg laughed.

I rolled my eyes and rubbed the sides of my head to try to stop the pounding of my head before it turned into a full blown headache, but to no avail. _"Great, now I have to deal with an annoying Beast Boy and a bored Cyborg on the way home in addition to this lovely headache."_

Author's P.O.V

In a dark, cave-like place, sat a figure chained to the floor by their hands and feet. The only indication of life was the slow, but steady rise and fall of their chest. At some unknown sound, the figure slowly raised their head and listened. The grinding sound of chains on stone echoed in the dark cavern as the figure stood and walked to the cell door. A breathy sigh ghosted between cracked, unused lips.

"Oh Raven… I told you…. this would happen….. There is …no stopping it ….now. It has …..begun."

The figure moved back to their original position, smiling slightly before resuming a blank face, waiting.

Flying home from Tokyo

Raven's P.O.V

I really tried, I did. I _tried_ to ignore the incessant burps, snorts, and jokes of a certain teammate, but there's nowhere to avoid someone on the ship! Everyone has a maximum amount of time they can be exposed to annoyance before they react. Normally I would put my headphones on and try to sleep or meditate, but my headache was quickly warping into a full on migraine. So today, my limit was five hours and forty-three minutes of nonstop chatter before I thought my head would explode. I think I set a world record somewhere for my patience, I'm sure Beast Boy did for most bad jokes told in six hours. All I knew was that we were on at least a fifteen hour flight, and I COULD NOT endure nine more hours listening to why the cookie had to go to the doctor.

I felt my powers snake down my arm and into the radio device in my capsule. Using my mind's eye, I found the output cord connecting Beast Boy's radio to the communications system and unplugged it. Blissful silence echoed throughout the cockpit as I silently sighed in relief. Cyborg had no problem voicing his opinion.

"Finally! I didn't know how much more I could take! Thanks Rae."

I nodded and closed my eyes. I needed to at least _try_ to meditate, if only to sooth my head. Unfortunately, it seemed the fates where against me once again as Cyborg's laughter filtered though my headset.

"Hey Raven, I think the grass stain is tryin' to communicate."

I turned to see at an indignant Beast Boy glaring at me from his pod. He pointed at his radio and I shrugged my shoulders. It was either that, or toss him from the jet. Excuse me for trying to be courteous. Next time I would be sure to go directly to the tossing option. I looked back over to see that he had somehow obtained paper and a pencil.

**Uncool, Dude! **

I smirked and summoned my own pen and pad. Why create noise by talking, when I could just write it down?

_**It was this or the water, we couldn't take it anymore.**_

**I'll tell Robin! **I rolled my eyes at that one. At the start of our flight, Robin had created a private communications line with Starfire to "chat" privately, or whatever couples do when they get together.

_**Something tells me he wouldn't care. If he could hear you, that is.**_ His comeback was truly a reflection of his age. He stuck out his tongue and pouted.

**What am I supposed to do for the rest of the trip?! **

_**Keep talking, no one was listening anyway.**_

**Dude! I'm totally funny! **

_**Who lied to you? I'll set them straight. **_

**Those Japanese girls totally loved my jokes! Plus they dug the ears. **He emphasized this by wiggling said appendages.

**Maybe I should go back there! At least the girls are honest!**

_**Maybe you should! Then you wouldn't be giving me a headache! **_I glared back as my head throbbed. Obviously I would need to stop encouraging him if I wanted any meditation time. I turned away a resumed meditating, effectively severing the conversation for the moment.

Half an hour later I was awoken by a disturbing suction sound. _"That idiot," _I thought._ "He can't be serious." _ Lo and behold, Beast Boy, once again, was the cause of the disturbance. A giant green octopus holding a sketch pad that read, **Raven unplugged my radio!**, was gripping what I knew was Robin's pod.

"Raven, I don't know and I don't care what you guys are fighting about, but plug his radio back in."

"….Fine."

Once again, my powers found Beast Boy's radio and plugged it back in.

"….-vse you right! It's my job to bring laughter and joy. How can I do that without my awesome jokes? Also-"

I switched off my headset deftly pulled up my hood. I would get some peace and quiet if it was the last thing I did.


End file.
